India, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE moved from red to amber list

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts

Get Simon Calder’s Travel email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

India, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE have been moved from the red list to the amber list in the latest review of the government’s traffic light system for international travel.

This means that those who visit these countries will no longer have to book a quarantine hotel package for when they return to England.

Follow UK travel list update - live: Latest news as France sheds ‘amber plus’

Instead, they can follow amber list rules: those who have been fully vaccinated or are under the age of 18 need not quarantine and must simply present a negative lateral flow test prior to departure, and take a PCR test within two days of arrival in the UK.

Unvaccinated travellers will have to quarantine at home for 10 days and take a Covid-19 test on days two and eight after arriving back in England, or pay for an extra test on day five to finish self-isolating early.

The changes will come into effect at 4am on Sunday 8 August.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “As we learn to live with this virus we are continuing to take steps to safely reopen international travel, based on the latest data and expert public health advice.

“The vaccines have already prevented around 60,000 deaths and 22 million infections in England, and with over 7 in 10 adults in the UK now double jabbed we are building a wall of defence against the disease.

“As well as moving more countries to the green list, today’s announcement also demonstrates the need for continued caution. Further countries have been added to the red list to help protect the success of our vaccine rollout from the threat of new variants.”

In the latest review, four destinations were also downgraded from amber to red - Georgia, Mexico, La Reunion and Mayotte - necessitating returning travellers to book an 11-night hotel quarantine package.

Additionally, the amber plus list has been scrapped.